Wrong Demigod Worship

Bhagavad Gita 9.23. What does it mean when Krishna says Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kuntī, but they do so in a wrong way.00

<>Posted 14/02/2012 by Devarsi

0

Demigod Worship and how to practice it properly

“Oh Ganga, protected by you, may (Rama) the son of the intelligent and mighty monarch Dashratha, execute the mandate of His father. Having spent complete fourteen years in the forest, He will return in company with His brother and myself. Then, Oh worshipful one, Oh you of auspicious fortune, having returned safely, I will, Oh Ganga, worship you, you that crown every desire. Oh you that wend in three ways, Oh revered one, you envelop the regions of Brahma. You appear in this world as the spouse of the Ocean king. I will, Oh respected one, bow down to you, Oh beauteous one, I will hymn you, when, with good fortune returned, the foremost of men has obtained the kingdom, I will, to please you, give away to brahmanas hundreds and thousands of cows, cloths, flavorful rice, and vessels of wine by thousands, and pillows. Oh worshipful one, I will worship you on Rama having returned to the city. And I will worship all the gods that dwell on your banks, as well as the holy spots and fanes, as soon as, Oh sinless one, that mighty-armed one without sin will, coming back from His abode in the forest, enter Ayodhya in company with His brother and myself.” (Sita Devi speaking to Ganga Devi, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, Sec 52)

Worship in goodness, passion or ignorance.

Demigod worship is generally frowned upon by Vaishnavas, those who are worshipers of Lord Vishnu or Krishna. According to Vedic teachings, the purpose of human life is to develop a love for God, so any other discipline or religious practice outside of loving God is seen as second class.

The demigods, referred to as devas, are the chief deputies of the Supreme Lord Krishna. Just as a president or prime minister has assistants and cabinet secretaries, Krishna also has assigned posts for elevated living entities to manage the affairs of the material world. Their duty is to see to it that things are running smoothly and also to grant benedictions to those who please them. There are thousands of devas, but some of the more notable ones are Lord Shiva, Ganesha, Goddess Lakshmi, and Durga. They each provide different material benedictions to those who worship them properly and vigilantly. Their janma, or birth, as well as their specific duties are described in most of the Puranas.

“Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet.” (Bg 7.23)

Generally speaking, those who are less intelligent worship the demigods. The reason they are considered less intelligent is because the demigods, by rule, are only allowed to bestow material benedictions. If one is seeking great wealth, success in material endeavors, or the acquisition of great powers, they approach one of the various devas. Lord Krishna Himself describes this in the Bhagavad-gita, read text on the left.

One need only research the great Vedic texts to find examples of those who performed demigod worship. They were all generally asuras, enemies of God. The great Rakshasa demon Ravana worshiped many demigods including Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma in order to procure great material benedictions and powers. He didn’t use any of these powers for good, for he was committed to harassing the great sages performing sacrifices in the forest. His kingdom of Lanka was a sinner’s paradise, with people regularly overindulging in meat eating and intoxication. He had such a voracious appetite for sex that he regularly cavorted with his hundreds of wives in his palace. These women were always drunk, so much so that they would fall asleep on each other not knowing where they were. Other great demons such as Hiranyakashipu and Bhasmasura were also dedicated worshipers of the demigods.

Not all worshipers of demigods can be classified as unintelligent. In the Hindu tradition passed down for thousands of years, householders generally follow demigod worship very strictly. This is done more out of duty than anything else. The Vedas provide various forms of religion, a series of stepping-stones aimed at elevating one’s consciousness. Those in the grihastha ashrama, householder life, regularly perform worship of the devas so that their family life will be peaceful and prosperous. God Himself followed this tradition when He incarnated on earth as Lord Rama and Lord Krishna. Rama and His family were very pious. They all regularly offered prayers in the morning and evening. When traversing the forest, Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita would worship various demigods prior to building cottages as a way of purifying their living quarters. In a very famous scene, Lord Rama worshiped Lord Shiva just prior to marching to Ravana’s kingdom of Lanka. Lord Krishna followed similar traditions:

“Somewhere the Lord was seen engaged in performing different types of sacrifices to satisfy the demigods, who are only His qualitative expansions. Somewhere He was seen engaged in public welfare activities, establishing deep wells for water supply, rest houses and gardens for unknown guests, and great monasteries and temples for saintly persons. These are some of the duties enjoined in the Vedas for householders for fulfillment of their material desires.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Volume 2, Ch 2.14)

Ironically, just prior to delivering the Bhagavad-gita to Arjuna wherein the Lord condemned demigod worship, Krishna ordered Arjuna to worship Goddess Durga to ensure victory in the upcoming battle of Kurukshetra.

“The holy one said,–’Cleansing thyself, O mighty-armed one, utter on the eve of the battle thy hymn to Durga for (compassing) the defeat of the foe.” (Mahabharata)

All of this can seem confusing. On the one hand, worship of the devas is condemned, and on the other hand we see Krishna Himself performing such acts. Which example is correct? For the answer, we need only look to Sita Devi, the wife of Lord Rama. In the above referenced statements, Sita is praying to Ganga Devi, the river Ganges, to protect her husband and ensure His successful return to Ayodhya. When God took birth as Lord Rama many thousands of years ago, as part of His pastimes, He accepted a fourteen year exile sentence delivered by His father, Maharaja Dashratha. Sita, along with Rama’s younger brother Lakshmana, accompanied the Lord in His travels through the forest, for they couldn’t bear to be separated from Him. Sita’s worship of Ganga Devi took place early on in the exile period, just after Rama had sent Sumantra, the family charioteer, back home.

Sita Rama

Sita Devi only worshiped Ganga Devi so that Rama, God Himself, would be satisfied. Due to this fact, her practice of demigod worship was completely spiritual and in line with bhagavata-dharma. In general, those who are somewhat pious seek the four primary rewards of material life: dharma (religiosity), artha (economic development), kama (sense gratification), and moksha (liberation). Bhakti yoga, or devotional service, is above this religious system since it involves lovingly serving God without any personal motives. Sita prayed to Ganga only for the satisfaction of Rama, and not for any material benefit. This is the highest form of religion. She didn’t resent the demigods or look down on them. Rather, she had the highest respect for them. She recognized their incredible powers and decided to take advantage of them. Sita’s only mission in life was to love Rama to the fullest extent, so she used any tool at her disposal to execute her tasks. Her worship of Ganga Devi was done with conditions. “If you help my husband, then I’ll worship you.” In actuality, Sita was doing Ganga Devi a favor since she was allowing Ganga, a demigoddess, to directly serve the Supreme Lord. Generally the demigods don’t get to directly serve God since they are busy doling out material rewards to their devotees. For this reason, taking birth as a human being is considered a greater boon than taking birth as a demigod, for humans have the opportunity to be directly engaged in God’s service.0

Sita Devi was the perfect devotee, someone so kind and compassionate that her glories can’t be put into words. From her example, we learn that demigod worship is justifiable if we can use it for the right purpose. We can worship the Lord’s great devotee Hanuman to give us devotion to Rama. We can worship Lord Shiva to give us the power of concentration so that we may always fix our mind on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. We can humbly ask Lord Ganesha to remove the obstacles that come in our way of performing devotional service. In this way, we can combine forces with the devas to help satisfy God.

Leave a Reply

Featured Video

Syamarani dd speaks about Sri Krishna Lila (the fruit-seller)

THE THOUGHT OF THE DAY

TAKE KRISHNA AND YOU WILL BE HAPPYWe want to be happy, with so many ideas. Everyone is making his own idea. But the rascals, they do not know that, what is the actual process for getting happiness...that is Krsna. That they do not know, na te viduh svartha-gatim hi visnum durasaya ye bahir-artha-maninah[SB 7.5.31]. You can see in your country, they are trying so many things, so many skyscraper buildings, so many motor cars, so many big, big cities, but there is no happiness. Because they do not know what is missing. That missing point we are giving. Here it is, "You take Krsna and you will be happy." This is our Krsna consciousness. Krsna and the living entity, they are very intimately connected. Like father and son, or friend and friend, or master and servant, like that. We are very much intimately connected. But because we have forgotten our intimate relationship with Krsna, and trying to become happy in this material world, therefore we have to undergo so much tribulation. This is the position. Krsna bhuliya jiva bhoga vancha k From Srila Prabhupada S.B. Lecture 1.15.1

I AM BOUND BY AFFECTION FOR THEM
Lord Krishna said “I am equal to all living beings and am neither inimical nor
partial to anyone. But as those who approach Me with bhakti are attached to Me, so too I am bound by affection for them.” Source Bhagavad Gita 9.29.

BE CAREFUL
You are what your deep driving desire is. As your desire is so, so is your will.
As your will is so, so is your deed. As your deed is so, so is your destiny.
Source.. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

ELEVATING ONES CONSCIOUSNESS
Although our state of mind is seen through the nature of our activities (how we
dress, eat, talk etc.), the type of activities we perform also affects our state
of mind. This means we can elevate our consciousness by elevating the nature of
our activities. All spiritual activities should help us to free our
consciousness from illusion and direct it towards God. A devotee of Krishna
accepts the regulations of spiritual life as ‘regulative principles of freedom’,
as tools for advancing personal character development and to attain a blissful
spiritual consciousness

CONSIDER THIS DEEPLY
Killing animals and eating them, among many other activities, which harm any
living entity in any way, is one of the worst things a person can do to create
negative karma for himself. Our present karmic reactions, happiness and
distress, all have their origin in our present or past life’s positive or
negative, kind or unkind activities. Therefore a sane person should always
consider this deeply before acting, and with great determination and for his own
benefit, remove himself from negative activity. Even if the whole world objects
and is against it, one should reject all that is even remotely associated with
causing harm to life.

WE ARE NOT ONE
The Jiva, the real self, does not become one with God, or indeed anything, even
after he has attained complete Liberation. The soul retains his individuality
under any circumstance. After death or here in this World or hovering on the
ghostly plane, existing in heaven or in the transcendental World. There is no
situation anywhere, in which the soul can be destroyed or loose his eternal
individuality, to think it can, is an illusion.

WE ARE IN FORGETFULNESS
The spirit souls attached to material life, cannot easily comprehend spiritual
attachment, nor can they have any experience of it. In reality, it is the souls
true function and eternal nature. However, we have become engrossed in
attachment to matter which causes us to forget, that we are actually a spiritual
particle of consciousness. This is a miserable condition, although hardly any of
the Souls who are thus entangled in birth old age disease and death, think so.

HE HAS AN ETERNAL FORM
5000 years ago, Lord Krishna spoke about the meaning of life, the subtle
workings of creation, and the understanding of a self- realized soul. He spoke
of the science of yoga in all its forms, the path of work, the path of
knowledge, the path of mysticism, the path of devotion. And at last Lord Krishna
revealed Himself before Arjuna as the source of everything, His eternal form as
the Supreme Lord.

HE IS VERY CLOSE
The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the
wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the
material energy. Bhagavad Gita 18.61
Dr. Daniel Coleman, associate editor of Psychology Today and author of The
Varieties of Meditative Experiences.

THREE TYPES OF DISCUSSION
In a vada discussion the motive of all concerned is to find out the truth. This
is the ideal kind of discussion. It is for persons who are sober and impartial
about the outcome; they simply want to know what is the truth of the matter.
They are in the mode of goodness.

PraJalpa is a discussion wherein one is not interested in what is said by
others, whether it has some truth or all of the truth, because one simply wants
to be heard. Any other view or contribution is of no interest. This is the way
for a person in the mode of passion.

A vitanda discussion is in the mode of ignorance. In this version the truth
is of no value. One simply wants to win at all costs.

By Srila Jiva Gosvami, Sri-Sat-SandarbhaGOD CONSCIOUSNESS IS EVERYONE’S ORIGINAL CONSCIOUSNESS
Krishna Consciousness is not an artificial transformation. Our original
consciousness is God consciousness, but now our consciousness is covered with so
many identifications, situations and problems. Our consciousness is like water.
Water is by nature clear and transparent, but sometimes it becomes muddy. If you
filter all the mud out of the water, it again comes to its original clear,
transparent state. This is the result of Krishna meditation.WHAT GOES ROUND…COMES AROUND
You are what your deep driving desire is, as your desire is so, so is your will,
as your will is so, so is your deed, as your deed is so, so is your destiny.
“Isopanishads”SPECULATIVE PHILOSOPHERS
Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada said: Neither the scientists nor
speculative philosophers have yet arrived at any conclusion concerning the
cosmic situation. All they have done is posit different theories about it. Some
of them say that the material world is real, others say that it is a dream, and
yet others say that it is ever existing. In this way different views are held by
mundane scholars.LIMITED CONSCIOUSNESS AND UNLIMITED CONSCIOUSNESS
The difference between God and the individual soul is, that the individual
spiritual soul is localized to one place and is situated inside the heart. Our
consciousness is limited to pervade just this one body. But Krishna has Super
Consciousness, He is unlimitedly all knowing. With a small fragment of Himself,
He pervades and maintains entire universes. In this way the theory that the soul
and God are one, is rejected and not acceptable. A person who imagines that he
has become all pervading, thinking himself to be God, is in illusion and
deluding himself.THE ROAD TO BHAKTI
By Srila Bhaktivinodha Thakura
When that suffering becomes excessive, it gives rise to a search for happiness.
From that desire, discrimination arises, and from discrimination, the tendency
for inquiry is born. As a result of this, one attains sat-sanga (the association
of saintly people), where upon sraddha develops. When sraddha is born, the jiva
ascends to a higher stage, namely the path of bhakti.
Exerpt From Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharajas Translation Of The Book Jaiva
DharmaREAL MEDITATION
By Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada.
At first, remembrance of Krsna may be interrupted at intervals, but later
remembrance proceeds uninterrupted. When remembrance is uninterrupted, it
becomes concentrated and is called meditation. When meditation expands and
becomes constant, it is called anusmrti. By uninterrupted and unceasing anusmrti
one enters the stage of samadhi, or spiritual trance. After smarana-dasa or
samadhi has fully developed, the soul comes to understand his original
constitutional position. At that time he can perfectly and clearly understand
his eternal relationship with Krsna. That is called sampatti-dasa, the
perfection of life.”

ONENESS AND DIFFERENCE
Though we come in various forms and though we are all individual personalities,
we all come from the same source and we are of the same spiritual substance as
Krishna. “Tattva” means reality, principle, and truth. He is beginning less and
we are all also eternal entities, one with Krishna in quality, and different in
quantity, we are simultaneously one with and different from Him, we are eternal
parts and parcels of God.

REALIZING OUR SPIRITUAL IDENTITY
Human life is awarded to the living entity the soul, to realize his spiritual
identity and his permanent source of happiness. The human beings seek happiness
because happiness is our original situation. But he is vainly seeking happiness
in the material atmosphere. We are constitutionally spiritual by nature and
therefore our happiness can be perfectly perceived in Bhakti Yoga

SAMADHI
In the stage of perfection called trance, or samādhi, one’s mind is completely
restrained from material mental activities by practice of bhakti yoga. This
perfection is characterized by one’s ability to see the Self by the pure mind
and to relish and rejoice in the Self.

QUALITIES TO STRIVE FOR
Peacefulness austerity purity tolerance honesty knowledge wisdom and religious
ness.These are the natural qualities by which the Brahmans work.

MATERIAL REALITY
Material life is non-eternal, and hence its impression of being substantive is
an illusion in form of a super-imposition on the eternal spiritual self.
Material knowledge is not real knowledge because it does not inform about real
eternal life and latest at the time of death it is exposed as useless. Material
so-called bliss is not real bliss because it is temporary, and when it ends, it
results in suffering.”

IT’S PERSONAL
The heat and luminosity of the sun’s rays demonstrate to any rational person
that the sun, the source of the rays, is not a dark, cold globe but rather a
reservoir of almost unlimited heat and light. Similarly, the innumerable
instances of personality and personal consciousness within creation are more
than adequate to demonstrate the existence, somewhere, of an unlimited reservoir
of consciousness and personal behavior which is that of Krishna.

NOT MUCH TIME
This human life is very short. Therefore, like the traveler in a guesthouse,
the living entity the spiritual soul, must diligently prepare for spiritual
realization during Its stay in this human body and its limited lifespan. Isn’t
it foolish to waste time trying to improve arrangements at the guesthouse during
one’s short visit, without concern for one’s destination?

A MOST IMPORTANT ANSWER
Who am I?’ This is the first question which arises in the heart of a person
seeking the highest good. If one makes a mistake in assessing one’s true
identity, then one will make errors when it comes to determining the ultimate
goal of life. If one makes an error in determining the ultimate goal of life,
then everything done, every effort made, will simply be wasted.

NOT THIS BODY
The teaching of the spiritual self beyond the material body solves the problems
of racism (which has led to billions of war, slavery and genocide victims),
nationalism, sexism, various psychological and sexual disorders and all other
prejudices and problems arising from bodily identification. The practice of
Bhakti yoga and chanting of Hare Krishna, in the right association, will bring
about proof and direct realization of ones authentic self

SKELETONISM
The big obstacle to human progress is skeletonism or the faith that ‘I am the
material body and reality consists only of what the material body perceives’. In
this way one blocks the path to the deeper truth which is perceivable only to
the spiritual senses and not to the gross senses. The basic human misconception
is that the physical body is the self, which naturally leads to an increasing
crisis of the self.

THE LOVER AND THE BELOVED
The lover, the individual soul, is eternal; the beloved, the Supreme Soul, is
eternal; and the loving relationship, bhakti, is also eternal, it is the
original function of the soul. Thus, this Bhakti yoga re-establishes
consciously, the original loving relationship between the Supreme Soul and the
individual soul. It is our unfortunate predicament, that we have forgotten this
wonderful truth, because we are falsely thinking ourselves to be products of
this material plane.

AWAKENING OF THE HEART
As the sun begins to rise, even before it is visible it dissipates the darkness
of night. With the first glimpse of sunlight, fear of thieves, ghosts, and
demons immediately disappears, and when the sun is actually visible, everything
is manifest and everyone begins performing his religious activities and
regulative duties. Similarly, the first hint that offense less chanting of the
Lord’s holy name has awakened dissipates the reactions of sinful life
immediately.

A GRADUAL PROCESS
The gradual process of elevation for self-realization is meant for those who
have realized, that there must be an Absolute Truth. After repeated birth and
deaths on this path, which is known as deva-yāna, one attains these consecutive
stages. Finally one becomes completely situated in ones blissful self, and need
not traverse the path of repeated birth and death anymore

MY LORD IS A PERSON
Although He is non-dual, infallible, beginningless, possessed of unlimited forms
and the oldest of all, nevertheless, He is a beautiful person with everlasting,
fresh youthfulness. Although He is incomprehensible through study of the Vedas,
He is easily attained by spontaneous devotion of the soul (shuddha-prema) I
worship that original personality, Shri Govinda, Krishna

OUR INNERMOST HANKERING
The innermost hankering of every soul is for Beauty, Love, Affection and
Harmony; Not for knowledge, power belongings or anything else. Please chant Hare
Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare; Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama
Hare Hare. This maha mantra cleanses the dust from the mirror of the mind and
awakens us to a pure life of loving devotion to the Lord free from all
anxieties.

QUESTION TIME

Someone asked " “When the spirit soul returns to the Spiritual World does he have the same relationship with Krishna as before he came here to the Material World?”"

The following answers are given by several devotees.

1) The conclusion is that no one falls from the spiritual world
or Vaikuntha planet, for it is the eternal abode. (Bhag. 3.16.26, purp.)

2)From authoritative sources it can be discerned that associates of Lord
Visnu who descend from Vaikuntha do not actually fall. They come with the
purpose of fulfilling the desire of the Lord, and their descent to this
material world is comparable to that of the Lord…. it is a fact that no one
falls from Vaikuntha. (Bhag. 7.1.35, purp.)

3)The Spiritual World] contains the highest perfectional stage of living
conditions…It is the unalloyed manifestation of the energy of the Lord,
without illusion as experienced here in the material world. (Bhag. 2.9.10,
purport)

4)In the spiritual world… inhabitants…They're aksara. They do not fall
down. Ksara aksara. We are ksaras. We have fallen down in this material
world. But there are devotees in the spiritual world, in the Vaikunthaloka,
they never come down. Never come down in this material world, but they are
also persons like us, but eternal persons, with full knowledge and life of
blissfulness. That is the difference between them and us. (741105SB.BOM)